The tank, approximately 35 feet high and 25 feet in diameter, was installed in a wooded area above Valley Road in 1952 to help provide water pressure to homes on Valley Road. The tank wasn’t working, and was shut down within 10 years.

"They haven’t used it in decades," said Ivette Mendez, a spokesperson for the Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC). The tank was initially installed by the City, but was ‘inherited’ by the PVWC when the City sold its infrastructure to the PVWC in the 1960s.

The tank is being removed after a complaint from a nearby daycare center whose property borders on the wooded area containing the tank. No formal complaints had been made until about a month ago, Mendez said.

"It’s been part of the scenery all these years," Mendez said. "In an effort to be a good neighbor, we took action. It’ll be a better looking site for all."

There are hundreds of water storage tanks in use throughout the state, Mendez said. The Passaic Valley Water Commission owns four more in Passaic County. Though this one was intended to fix water pressure, the main reason municipalities set up tanks is "essentially as backup water supplies," Mendez said.

City manager Al Greco said he expects the removal to be done by Monday. The City owns the 1.2-acre area where the tank is located. Greco said the City has no intentions to develop the property, since it is on a steep slope and inaccessible, but they are looking to preserve the land as ‘dedicated parkland’ under Green Acres. The City now owns more than 17 acres of open space north of the property, Greco said, to maintain and preserve the section of Garret Mountain.